Fall football

Excellent trip.  Short, not much of a drive, ate too much, got sunburned, way too hot, game went well, everything worked as expected, dogs are worn out.  

Saturday was our first game of the season.  We've been doing this for about 10 years now, so it is pretty much old hat.  Load up the trailers, head north to campus, set up camp, pull out the awnings/canopies, fire up the A/Cs, set out the fans.  When I hit the parking lot Friday afternoon, the truck was reading 101.  At those temps, it takes a while for the A/C units to cool things off.  

    

I took the opportunity to walk the dogs over to campus.  They love the exercise and chance to meet new people.  Of course everyone loves Goldens, so they got more than their fair share of attention.  I was thinking I was going to have to ice down Claire's tongue.  Along the way, I spotted all sorts of tailgate set ups.  I've seen this one for several years.  Look closely and you'll see it is a BBQ smoker.  
  

With the temps hovering near 100, I am always mindful of the dogs.  I carry water and a collapsible bowl for them, but I worry that the heat will be too much for them (especially Claire).  That's why I map out my route to take us to several fountains on campus.  Now most are inaccessible for the dogs - bench/lip too high, water too deep.  However, one on campus is a pond with a low access that is easy for the dogs.  When it is this hot, I normally wind up taking them there to cool off and get a drink.  Of course this garners them more attention (aww, How cute).      

Packed up early Sunday for the short trip back home.  We had hoped to head to Austin, but we'll have to leave that for another day.  Glad to have the extra day in the weekend to catch up on my chores/projects.  From the look at the dogs on the way home, I'd say this weekend was a success in their book.
     

Next weekend is another game I am planning to attend.  I only hope that the temps are a bit more fall like.  The following weekend I am out on the road again for a week to an undisclosed destination.  Flights are booked, agenda in place, reservations made at the site. For this trip, I have set aside a few extra days to explore/visit.  I am looking at a set of accommodations today that are totally different than my normal haunts.  No Grand Hyatt this time.